Tomorrow, I have to work on a bathroom sink. It involves replacing this throat looking thingie and the stopper. Everyone says it’s simple, but they don’t know me very well.
My idea of tool usage is the ice maker.
What I want to do is work through my critiques of The Yak Guy Project. The guys liked it, and there isn’t a lot to fix, but I want to check it off my list.
I also have another full read, with markup, of The Experimental Notebook II. This one addresses some really meaty concerns, and I can’t wait to tear into it. Except there is that sink project.
Which brings me to this guy.
Speaking of Wile E., here is something that baffles me. Decades ago, the world censors decided that children’s programming was too violent. They pulled many classic cartoons off the shelf in favor of something called edu-tainment.
The poor misguided children of that era are now the same ones shooting up schools, rallies, nightclubs, etc. Do we need to bring back The Three Stooges, Tom & Jerry, and others? I know I prefer them to almost everything on television, and I’ve never gone postal.
***
Does anyone remember this guy?
Once upon a time, a long loooong time ago, this guy was kind of an anti-Mickey Mouse. They put these humorous/monstrous characters in all kinds of artwork, most notably tee-shirts. This was the most famous one.
If we went to the store with Mom, and were good, we got a quarter to put in the machine. Ratfink was the top prize we could get. I must have had a dozen of these things.
The important part of this story is that we had to be good. This wasn’t an idle bluff. We (my brother and I for clarity) learned what ramifications are. We learned about winning and losing at Little League Baseball. I don’t know where I’m going with this, I warned you that I’m rambling tonight.
Maybe it’s the idea that learning about right and wrong, winning and losing, & rewards based upon results might have taught me not to… I don’t know, shoot up the DMV.
***
I learned a trick, the hard way. I’ve read a dozen times about pinning a tweet. I’ve never done it, until recently. There are some folks out there who prepare a tweet about my books and send them out into the world. These aren’t retweets, they actually took the time to grab a cover image, make a link, the whole thing.
To be nice, I wanted to tweet out something about their wares. Many authors don’t have a pinned tweet. Those that do, I will retweet that out in appreciation. I scrolled down a few timelines and found something for the others.
I decided I need to make a pinned tweet to make it easy for someone to share one of my books too. Therefore; if you’re so inclined, you can retweet my pinned tweet at your convenience.
***
The online world has been really dead lately. I’m not the only one to notice, and several people spoke up via comments or private email.
Things are different online right now. I never cared much for the awards, and bowed out of those years ago. I participated occasionally in the little challenges. You know the ones where we have to post a photo of our writing space or something.
Challenges and awards seem to have dried up lately. Does this indicate they have run their course? Could it be that netizens are interacting less, choosing to be lurkers instead? Did the crowd I started with move along? Many of them have.
The only thing difficult about most challenges is fingering your friends. Let’s try one, but I’m not fingering anyone. If you want to play, play. Let me know and I’ll go read your post.
Here’s the challenge: The world is ending. Pick your favorite apocalypse, and write away. The point is that you have less than two weeks, and there is no way out. The politically connected will survive, but the middle and lower classes are doomed. Your time is limited, what will you do? Here’s mine:
***
I grabbed an old soft-sided travel bag and dropped my .45ACP in the bottom. The broadcast networks went down days ago, there were riots in the streets. I grabbed some old CDs in the off chance they might still play somewhere.
The streets were silent today. Maybe the mob lost its ambition. The smell of smoke filled the air, and a faint sound of weeping came from some of the homes I walked past on my way to the grocery store. The store was locked, but an outside display of paving stones remedied that. I hurried, before the crowd showed up to loot the place. The sound of breaking glass would attract them for sure.
All I really wanted was a couple of ribeye steaks, some baking potatoes, and maybe a couple of ears of corn. A bottle of George Dickel #12 caught my eye on the way out, and I added it to my kit.
Now I’m going to steal the most outrageously cool car I can find and hit the open road, and I’m not going alone. I’ll hang my Ratfink from a chain around the mirror and leave rubber all over the streets when I leave. I’ll plug in one of the CDs and listen to Aerosmith or ACDC on my way out of town.
The goal? We’re going to drive like maniacs, I’ll feel the wind in my beard, and play my music full blast. Then We’re going to enjoy a nice steak dinner under the stars, drink the whiskey, and if I’m lucky, I’ll leave a crater so baffling that future archaeologists will wonder about it for the next thousand years.
***
You can spend your last days any way you like. Maybe you want to visit your grandmother, or scratch something off your bucket list. Tell me about it.
Now that my head’s clear, I suppose I’d better work on one of my editing projects. Have a nice evening.
I think I’d finagle a way to take the ‘ruling elite’ with me.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Go get them. I’d be power sliding through the curves along the Payette River right about now.
LikeLike
If we’re talking about government people who took my tax money and built themselves a bunker while hanging me out to dry, then yeah, I’m taking them down with me. Maybe a tanker truck full of ammonia or chlorine down their air vent.
If it’s just people who planned better than I did, then good for the human race, no hard feelings. I’d see if they’d take in some of my family members or pets. Maybe I’d see if they needed to hire some guards for their bunker.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Almost a vengeance type adventure. It could be cool in a steal the truck and crash cars way. Bruce Willis could play you in the movie.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I like how you plan to go out….
LikeLiked by 1 person
Food, drink, nice company, and a smoldering crater. Maybe a piece of debris orbiting the planet forever.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I also am greatly relieved to hear you say things feel different online right now. The past two weeks have been odd. I remember something like this for a bit around this time last year but it seems more profound this time somehow.
LikeLiked by 1 person
There are a lot of folks hitting the like button, but I don’t think they read the posts. Lots of re-blogging, but not much original content either. People do more in the Summer, so some of this is expected.
LikeLiked by 1 person
An interesting collection of ramblings. I’m a little confused on the cartoon thing since I remember stuff like that when I was a kid. So, I wasn’t sure if it’s decades or just the last few years. I do see what you’re saying though. We grew up seeing outlandish violence while being told that such things should stay in fiction. Now, most things are realistic violence and parents are too busy to talk about it.
I’ll have to think about the apocalypse thing. Considering I’m writing a post-apocalyptic story now, my mind keeps going to ‘rampage’.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Somehow, Warner Brothers cartoons devolved into Fat Albert. Everybody made mistakes, but at the end of every episode everyone was friends.
LikeLike
That’s strange. I remember a little Fat Albert, but Looney Tunes were still the big ones. You had the adventure stuff too like He-Man, Thundercats, and Darkwing Duck. Not really sure what the kid cartoons of today are. I assume they’re rather tame.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Confession though. When my kids were little I liked Darkwing. Goof Troop too.
LikeLike
The Disney stuff was a big chunk of my childhood. Ducktales, Gargoyles, Darkwing, Rescue Rangers, etc. Wish they would bring those back.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I agree. Maybe some from my era too. Popeye, MacGoo, George of the Jungle.
LikeLike
Those weren’t around as much. Flintstones and Jetsons were big though. I caught a little Rockey & Bullwinkle too.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I think Rocky and Bullwinkle are older than I am, like the Warner Brothers stuff. They reran them forever though.
LikeLike
Ratfink!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Someone remembers.
LikeLike
Oh yeah, well he was big in the 90’s. Lots of resurgence with the skater punks.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I think seeing violence on TV cartoons helped a few of my cousins burn off some testosterone the easy way.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s possible. Foghorn Leghorn may prevent adult violence. I say we try it.
LikeLike
I’m a survivor. Wile E. Coyote taught me that. In my apocalyptic world Acme stills exists through Amazon.
LikeLiked by 2 people
That’s funny, Amazon kind of is Acme.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Good ramble ☺
And I noticed a visitor drop off. Holidays, time of year effect? Or just people not being as bloggy as ourselves.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Part of it is the season, but it seems bigger this year. When people put something aside, they don’t always pick it back up later.
LikeLiked by 1 person
True, hopefully things will pick up again.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Reblogged this on Anita Dawes & Jaye Marie and commented:
what are you like! apart from hilarious, I mean…
LikeLike
I remember Ratfink. Loved Wile E. Coyote, too, though the Roadrunner’s beep was obnoxious. Hmm…last day on earth…I’d probably spend it in a beautiful, custom-made log cabin in the woods, with a built-in pool and Jacuzzi. Just me, my husband, and our family. Peace. Quiet. Great food. Lots of laughs.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Sounds perfect.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hmm. I may do this ending thing. I liked yours.
I think most of WP is tired of awards, to the point of being award-free more and more.
We have to replace a part in the hot water handle of our main bathroom sink. So far, no luck. We have many suggested parts to return and right now, there’s no hot water in that sink, because if it’s on, it leaks steadily. It’s an old faucet, and a nice old brass one, not affordable to replace. I really wouldn’t want to buy a new one even if money were no issue. We’ll keep hunting. For now.
Nice ramble đŸ™‚
LikeLiked by 1 person
Four hours and I have almost everything done. I can’t hook the linkage to the stopper to save my life. I’m sure there is some kind of man joke in there somewhere, but I’m too irritated to think it up. Hope you can fix yours. Those pretty old fixtures are hard to come by.
LikeLike
Love the Cobra. Your story was interesting. I’ll leave it with you since I’m not in the space for last day on Earth. Have too much to do including the Notebook II.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Those were such cool cars. I always wanted one, but it wasn’t really practical for a kid growing up in four-wheel-drive country.
LikeLiked by 1 person
A shelby AC Cobra roadster would be hundreds of thousands today.
LikeLiked by 1 person
No doubt. I’m finding tons of cool car and bike stuff on Facebook, now that I’m finally there. I saw an old Cobra that was all polished aluminum, like an old airplane. It looked pretty cool.
LikeLiked by 1 person
đŸ™‚
LikeLike
I’d want to spend it with family. Funny the things we remember. My kids watched some of the new Looney Tunes shows and loved them. I had tapes of some of the originals, the Three Stooges, Abbott and Costello.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’d have to spend my last days with family. As for Ratfink, the name sounds familiar, but I don’t think I remember. I do, however, remember all those old Looney Tunes and how much fun they were. Loved Tom and Jerry, the coyote and Foghorn Leghorn. And then there was Quickdraw McGraw, Deputy Dog and Snagglepuss. So many others.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’ve been in the mood for some good cartoons lately. I might have to look into DVDs.
LikeLiked by 1 person